Sharks are known as the greatest predators of the sea. But what happens when the hunter becomes the hunted? A 9ft. great white shark went up against a predator of its own, but this one didn't come out on top.

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When a nine-foot great white shark was devoured, evidence revealed that it was a victim of a super-predator living in the deep. This shark was tagged by researchers four months before it was taken by this super-predator, which has to be humongous to swallow a shark that size. The mystery of the tagged shark's demise has prompted numerous searches for the predator and the latest one reveals astonishing evidence, according to the Business Insider on June 9.

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The mystery was so intriguing and perplexing that a documentary called "The Search for the Ocean's Super-Predator" was spawned and detailed the intricate investigation into the devouring of this great white shark. What killed that shark is still unknown today, but scientist know that it has to be a monster in size.

According to Yahoo. com, the predator is a mystery creature and one that no one has been able to lay eyes on as of yet. A new research project, documented on film is about to be released explaining the evidence around the missing great white.

The mysterious predator:

Eleven years ago a healthy female great white shark was tagged and then monitored after it was returned to the waters of Australian's Southern Ocean. The shark was part of a research project studying species movements throughout the ocean.

The scientists monitored information coming from the shark, using both the internal and external data transmitted back from the technology fitted to the shark's tag. Besides monitoring the shark's health it also covered its surroundings, such as the water temp and the depth of the ocean it was in at any given time.

The mystery begins four months after the shark was tagged. The shark's monitoring tags washed up on a beach, only two and a half miles from where it was originally tagged and let go in the ocean. Scientists analyzed the data coming from the shark in the days before it died, which is how they came to the conclusion that the shark was devoured by a super-predator.

The shark, referred to as Shark Alpha, plunged to a depth of 1,900 feet down a continental shelf at 4 a.m. on Christmas Eve. Right before the depth change there was a temperature rise that occurred suddenly. The temperature in the shark's surroundings was at 46 degrees then jumped up to 78 degrees in a matter of seconds.

Scientists believe that the only way the temperature change that drastic could happen is if the shark was in the belly of another animal. The predator would have to be big enough to swallow a shark of that size, which means there was a super-predator out there in the ocean unseen as of yet.

The other animal could possibly another great white shark, but it would have to be of massive proportions! Great whites are known to eat anything, that includes turning cannibalistic and eating one of their own species. What would bring about a shark on shark attack? Scientist suggest it could be anything from a territorial dispute to the shark being extremely hungry.

The Smithsonian Channel is attempting to solve this super predator mystery with a new documentary called "The Hunt for the Super-Predator," which will go into detail about the mystery of the missing tagged great white shark. A clip from this video appears above. It is absolutely fascinating.

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Roz Zurko is a freelance writer originally from Milford, Conn. Today she writes from her home at the foot of the Berkshires in Massachusetts. Her articles have appeared in magazines, newspapers and online. She has been a guest author on BBC radio and her online articles are read by more than a million people each month.

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